for those interested in getting to this school in western ma, fly into hartford ct instead if possible. unless you’re harrison ford and can drop off your stepson by private plane , bradley international airport (BDL) in windsor locks ct is only 45 minutes away versus a 2 hour+ trek from boston logan (BOS) which include tolls and metro traffic. your welcome
Do not book your kid on the last flight out of Bradley during the winter. If the flight gets canceled, the airport is small, low traffic, without a lot of airlines serving it, and your kid might end up having to get themselves to Logan anyway to get home. Logan is a much better bet once the snow season starts…
Actually @blossom Bradley (for some reason) is often the airport that is open and flying during weather events that affect the east coast airports (like Logan). If the weather is THAT bad, going by car or whatever from Bradley to Logan could be very problematic.
My one kid had to fly home from college…and we always booked her early in the day….sometimes the earliest in the day. That’s good practice regardless of the airport out of which you fly in the winter. And she flew in and out of Bradley.
My free advice (a little off topic…) don’t connect via Chicago.
Bradley over Logan any and every day. BDL is an absolute breeze, plus it’s quite close to Amherst. Logan is much more difficult and expensive to get to, and can be a crowded nightmare.
In my opinion, the only reason to consider Logan over BDL is if there’s a very cheap non-stop from Logan, vs an expensive 2-3 leg journey from BDL.
I have slept in an airport motel near Bradley more times than I can count…even when the weather has cleared, the planes aren’t in place to take off!
But you do you!
I’m not sure about Hartford, but at some other smaller airports I’ve been to recently, getting Uber/Lyft/taxi rides seems to be an issue. This only matters, of course, if the student needs to use these services.
This has been the only airport we have flown into since D18 has been at Amherst. Lovely airport! Although most recently the first flights out have had security lines out the door. Pro tip, there is a second security line where there is an entrance from the Hilton Garden Inn right into the airport. It’s a bit slower, but much shorter and that hotel is a great option for a kid that gets stuck in the airport too.
Now if anyone has ideas on the best airport getting to Williams College, I am all ears!
For all the things there are to love about Amherst, and there are many, options on how to get there via airplane is not one.
Uber/Lyft is a lot more expensive from Logan than Bradley. And I don’t know how difficult it is to find a driver willing to commit 4 hours for the round trip, that will almost certainly be empty for the ride back. I really need my daughter to find a friend from Boston. That was her plan to get back for second semester, but now she is doing J term and has to go back before the friend is headed that way. So I have her going to Bradley.
There use to be pretty regular shuttle busses to Logan from UMass. But I agree, Bradley every day of the week.